- Governor Seyi Makinde has stated that natural resources alone cannot lead to national development without a strong education system.
- Makinde stated that Venezuela, despite its large oil reserves, is still poor, while Finland, which has no oil, is prosperous.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has stated that natural resources alone cannot lead to national development without a strong education system.
According to report, Makinde stated that Venezuela, despite its large oil reserves, is still poor, while Finland, which has no oil, is prosperous.
He said this on Friday after listening to a sermon by Bishop Williams Aladekungbe from the Ibadan North Anglican Diocese at the funeral of his older brother, Olufunmilayo Sunday Makinde, held at the Bishop Akinyele Memorial Anglican Church in Ibadan.
The Governor highlighted the need for more investment in education to empower people, cautioning that, similar to how coal became less important, the world might one day shift away from oil.
“While preaching, the Bishop raised some issues. He said Nigeria does not have any reason to be poor because we do have natural resources. But natural resources alone do not lead to prosperity and that is just the reality.
“The country with the highest reserve of oil in this entire world is Venezuela and it is poor. So, to have prosperity, we must raise entrepreneurs and raise the standard of education.
“I was in Finland with my team, and I tried to make enquiries on why the country got so developed. I asked if they had oil, they said no. I asked if they had gold and silver and they said no. I asked of what they have and they said it is education,” he said.
Governor Makinde urged a change in focus from relying solely on natural resources to building a more resilient economy.
“So, in Oyo State, since we came in six years ago, we resolved to meet and exceed the UNESCO recommendation on education by allocating over 20 percent of our budget to the sector, it is because we know that some people will need to be entrepreneurs to turn the natural resources into something that can take us out of poverty.
“Yes, God has blessed us, and we should be thankful to Him for that. The first Industrial Revolution was coal. Nigeria was rich then because we had coal, but nobody is using it again because the world has moved to oil. Very soon, they will move away from oil to something else.
“So, we must be prepared. We must go beyond depending on natural resources to having an economy that can weather all storms,” he stated.
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